Mirror mirror on the wall – who’s the fairest of them all. Fair. Like nice. Like approachable and safe. Did you know kids are looking for that? The kids with several ACEs under their belt – they’re experts, professionals, when it comes to looking for this.
Lots of kids who have been through a traumatic experience, or persistent adversity, are uniquely attuned to the non-verbals of people around them. This makes sense because the stress response hormones allow them to be on high alert so they can mitigate risk and respond quickly to threats.
That’s not true for all kids. Some kids who have several ACEs tend to shut down, zone out and protect themselves by essentially hiding in plain sight. For them it feels safer to not notice, not get overwhelmed by the risk possibilities, not make their presence known.
But either way – they are highly attuned to the non-verbals. They are what we might call hyper vigilant. Ready for action, to fight, run, or play dead, at any moment.
Have you heard of mirror neurons? This is fascinating stuff. Some researchers claim that mirror neurons are what makes us human. Dr. Ramachandran calls them the “basis of civilization.” He has a great TED talk about mirror neurons. What does this have to do with hypervigilance? Well – let’s explore that.

Arkansas A.W.A.R.E. website: bit.ly/AWAREwebsite


https://www.ted.com/talks/vs_ramachandran_the_neurons_that_shaped_civilization

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/23/daniel-h-pink-shares-why-choral-singing-benefits-health-like-exercise.html

Produced by Donnie Lee
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com
More information: https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Offices/communications/dese-podcasts